Virgin of Vladimir (+ image by the hand of Stephen Allison 2008)

Wednesday 30 March 2011

The Call of Love - Deep calls to deep

Notes of Meeting on 29 March 2011

PICTURE OF JESUS, HE IS WEEPING TEARS, HIS HEART IS EXPOSED AND GREAT DROPS OF BLOOD ARE WEEPING FROM HIS HEART.

My people your love consoles me when I weep. I see the love you have in your hearts and all the good they contain, and this consoles my broken heart. My heart bleeds grievously for the evil and cold indifference in other hearts. I long for these hearts to contain my love, I long and thirst for them to return to me. Every time you are obedient to too my call of love upon you, you console my weeping heart, I see all your good actions, how you try to follow my path, it makes my heart soar with love and gratitude. My little flock listen always to my call of love. Love is not always the easiest path but it is the most fruitful. I you walk my path with the Holy Spirit, you know you are walking in the Father's will, the will of obedience. If you continue to walk this path of love, our adversary Satan, cannot lead you elsewhere. Your continual obedience to my call of love, is truly the consolation of my broken heart

My beloved little flock.

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DEEP CALLS TO DEEP

oh the day draws in, my heart weeps
tears run down my cheek, deep calls to deep

deep calls to deep
the waves and billows wash over me
I’ve been baptised into the waters of life
now I’m diving into the sea
I’m fishing for the souls of men
in the sea of humanity
I’m casting my nets as I’m listening to
the man from Galilee

listen you who have ears to hear
look you who have eyes to see
you are my beloved
in whom I am well pleased
my good my faithful ones
in whom I put my trust
I know my own
my own know me
they hear my voice
and they listen

it is my father’s will that not one will be lost
angels will lift you lest you stumble on a stone
these words you hear me speak these words are not my own
they are the words of the Father who sent me


deep calls to deep
the waves and billows wash over me
I’ve been baptised into the waters of life
now I’m diving into the sea
I’m fishing for the souls of men
in the sea of humanity
I’m casting my nets as I’m listening to
the man from Galilee

oh the day draws in, my heart weeps
tears run down my cheek, deep calls to deep

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A sense of a shining light around my head that seemed to lift the darkness and depression with me. It was if in our Praise either we had been raised to heaven or that heaven had come down to us.

___________________________________________________________________

My Eternal Light will shine on you always.

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Jude v 17 - 24


A Call to Persevere

17 But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. 20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

Doxology

24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Transfiguration

Notes of meeting on 22 March 2011


Jesus died on the Cross for us, through his death we are saved. He says "Love one another as I have loved you." Are we able to love all men those we dislike as well as those we like - can we love our enemies? Jesus died for all men good and bad,saints and sinners


Isaiah 56 v 1-8 (New International Version, ©2011)


Salvation for Others


1 This is what the LORD says: “Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. 2 Blessed is the one who does this— the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.” 3 Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.” And let no eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.” 4 For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant— 5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever. 6 And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant— 7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” 8 The Sovereign LORD declares— he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.”


A miner finds gold in the darkness of the mine - may we find Jesus in the darkness of our lives.


Daily reflection on Second Sunday of Lent (A)Sunday 20 March (From Bible Alive - Alive Publishing Limited)


Matthew 17:1-9 Matthew 17:1-9 (New International Version, ©2011)


The Transfiguration 1 After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8 When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”


For Peter, the heart of Jesus’ transfiguration is his receiving glory and honour from his Father: ‘For when he received honour and glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by Majestic Glory, “This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” we heard this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain’ (2 Pet. 1:17-18). The Father glorified Jesus in his humanity and the disciples saw the holiness of his inmost reality – the glory he had from the beginning: ‘Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made’ (John 17:5).

Jesus is the perfect human being. He came to create a new humanity by transforming us and filling us with his own holiness and glory. Incorporated in Christ by baptism, we die to our old humanity and rise with him as a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). Deep within us the Spirit begins his work of transforming us into the likeness and holiness of Christ. Nonetheless, we must co-operate with the Spirit.

Two things can hinder our co-operation. Firstly we often do not believe we can overcome our failings and weaknesses and be changed in a lasting way. The remedy is to grow in our faith that the Spirit is a power within us: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Cor. 12:9). By proclaiming this truth to ourselves, we shall strengthen our faith in God’s power to change us.

Secondly, we often think we are making no real progress in becoming holy as we seem to be continually struggling with the same issues. The remedy is to hold on to the truth that the Spirit’s work in us is necessarily hidden: ‘So we do not lose heart...our inner nature is being renewed every day’ (2 Cor. 4:16). Only after our death will the hidden work of our transformation be fully revealed. Meanwhile, as we eat the Lord’s body and drink his blood in the Eucharist, we put our faith in the truth that he is transforming us – albeit in a hidden way – and rejoice that we ‘are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another’ (2 Cor. 3:18).

‘Lord Jesus, transform my hidden self into your own likeness, so that I may more perfectly give you glory and honour.’

Thursday 17 March 2011

Out of the depths

Notes of meeting on 15 March 2011


Picture of a woman in the fires of hell. She cries out to Jesus. His precious blood is poured over the flames and He he pulls her out of the fire.

Psalm 130 (New International Version, ©2011)
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I cry to you, LORD; 2 Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
3 If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
5 I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. 6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. 8 He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.






God the Mighty Creator of the universe love me!







God accepts us as we are even in our weakness and sinfulness, we only need to turn to him and he will save us. He cares for us in all the difficulties, trials and ordinary circumstances (large and small) of our daily life. He gives us his Sprit to strengthen us.






Daily Reflection on First Sunday of Lent (A) Sunday 13 March
Matthew 4:1-11
(From Bible Alive - Alive Publishing Limited)

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might’ (Deut. 6:5). We are commanded to love God with every aspect of our being – with an undivided heart, with all our life and energies, and to prefer the love of God over the love of power and wealth.

Through Satan’s temptations Jesus’ obedience to the first commandment was tested. Firstly, his heart was tested. Would Jesus find his entire nourishment in the word of God alone, or seek his own satisfaction by assuaging his hunger? Jesus withstood Satan: ‘man does not live by bread alone, but…by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord’ (Deut. 8:3). The Son of God was fed by the word of God, not by bread alone.

Next, Satan invited Jesus to test God’s providential care by risking his life unnecessarily. Jesus’ response was unequivocal: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’ (Deut. 6:16). We serve the Lord with all that we have and all that we are, but not by taking reckless risks. The Son of God did not put the Father to foolish tests.

Finally, Satan invited Jesus to choose the way of power and wealth over obeying God. Jesus dismissed Satan: ‘You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve him…You shall not go after other gods’ (Deut. 6:13-14). The Son of God offered worship only to his heavenly Father. For forty days in the desert, Jesus rejected Satan’s temptations.
He loved God above all things.

All Satan’s temptations fall under these three categories of heart, life and wealth. Recognize Satan’s subtle ways of tempting us. He does not want us to love God with an undivided heart or serve him with all our might. He wants us to prefer the love of power and wealth to the love of God. The clearer we are about what God wants for our lives, the more successfully we shall resist Satan’s temptations. Jesus was steeped in the Scriptures and used them to resist Satan. Similarly, we should be familiar with the Scriptures so that we might have ‘the mind of Christ’ (1 Cor. 2:16) and stand against Satan’s wiles.

‘Lord Jesus, you loved your Father perfectly with all your heart, soul and might. By your Spirit give me the wisdom and strength to resist Satan and the grace to imitate your obedience to your Father.’

Come all you who are thirsty

Notes of meeting on 1 March 2011



Isaiah 55:1-13 (New International Version, ©2011)
Invitation to the Thirsty
1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. 2 Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. 3 Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. 4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. 5 Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.”
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. 12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”


Ezekiel 47:1-9 (New International Version, ©2011)
The River From the Temple
1 The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.
3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. 6 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?”
Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.


Matthew 13:44-45 (New International Version, ©2011)
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

Thursday 10 March 2011

Will you go where I send you

Notes of meeting on 22 February 2011

My Children will you go to the lost.
Will you go to the wounded and broken.
Will you go where I send you.
My Children will you speak my word.
Will you hear my cry.


Picture of Jesus with a sack on his shoulder. He opens it and it is full of gifts and fruits for us all.
Gifts that we are to share and to use in ministry and service.
Gifts of healing, teaching, discernment, knowledge, miracles, wisdom....

We are not only to be prayer warriors on the offensive but also to be watchmen prepared to sit, wait and watch. To wait with those in need, the sick, the needy.

We are all needy. We all have needs. Jesus fills all our needs